Myth No. 1 -- Mike Wallace was so disappointing this past season he was benched by coach Mike Tomlin: False. During the week prior to the Dec. 12 game against Baltimore, Tomlin was clearly unhappy with his team's course and the production of some players. And so that week he announced that Wallace and Emmanuel Sanders would be listed as "co-starters" on the depth chart rather than Wallace being the guy. Wallace was coming off a disappointing game against Cleveland and Sanders was in the midst of good season so much was written about the changing of the guard, so to speak. Well on game day, do you know what happened? Wallace started against Baltimore.

...............

Myth No. 2 -- Mike Wallace runs only go-routes: False. While Wallace is primarily a deep threat and has not been used very often in routes across the field, his routes repertoire was expanded this season to allow him to use his world-class speed in other ways. He ran in-cuts and outs. Is he an expert at those routes? No, he probably needs improvement. But is that the best use of one of the NFL's best deep threat receivers? Fair question.

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Myth No. 3 -- Mike Wallace drops passes: True. The guy dropped more passes this year than in past years. He dropped four passes in a game against Cincinnati. He blamed the issue on losing focus because the new offense instituted by offensive coordinator Todd Haley didn't always find him early on in games. Wallace said it was tough to play sometimes two or three quarters without a target and suddenly have the ball come to him. Excuse? I think so. On the other hand, name me a receiver that doesn't drop the ball sometimes.

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Myth No. 4 -- Mike Wallace only cares about money and will disappear once he gets paid: Hard to be unequivocal here because this involves predicting the future. But I was told the guy is a hard-worker. I was told he is a good guy in the locker room. I was told he "cares about winning." I was told he is "a pleasure to work with."

If the guy was as valuable as some people on these boards seem to suggest, then the Pittsburgh Steelers would be trying a lot harder than they are to keep him. Personally, I think there is a reason the Steelers are wanting to move on from Wallace. I'd pass on the guy. He's a one trick pony in my opinion. He's great in a straight line blowing the top off the defense. But when he's asked to do other things, he drops passes and looks out of his element. If the Dolphins spend big time money on a wideout, I hope they find someone who is well-rounded.

Well according to some anything would be an upgrade over these pp receivers. We ought not to even keep them.

Armstrong, Gafney, Binns, Moore and Mathews combined for about 30 or so catches all season... So if Wallace can match that its a step in the right direction...

And figuring we had 3 or 4 other WR's lingering around during camp that brings the tally to around 8 WR's that were not able to make a real contribution. So I am going to hope we get a stud FA, and draft another guy in round 1 or 2, then again in 3 just to be extra safe...

Well according to some anything would be an upgrade over these pp receivers. We ought not to even keep them.

Armstrong, Gafney, Binns, Moore and Mathews combined for about 30 or so catches all season... So if Wallace can match that its a step in the right direction...

And figuring we had 3 or 4 other WR's lingering around during camp that brings the tally to around 8 WR's that were not able to make a real contribution. So I am going to hope we get a stud FA, and draft another guy in round 1 or 2, then again in 3 just to be extra safe...

I know tell me about it, been saying all along once past DB/BH there was nothing on the depth chart worth a shhh...

I dont know what cost.. I mean signing a big name FA to a big contract? Happens every year, numerous times, by just about every team. Players develop past their pay scale and move on.. Not a big deal... So take a look at whs out there when the time comes, find the guy who fits and pay the man...

Then draft... rounds 1 - 3 has 5 picks, we can easily spare one or two to help out the WR group if you ask me...

So if thats too high of a cost, I welcome other options... But I would like to point out the bargin FA shopping has not worked, nor has developing 4th - 7th round guys...

I know tell me about it, been saying all along once past DB/BH there was nothing on the depth chart worth a shhh...

I dont know what cost.. I mean signing a big name FA to a big contract? Happens every year, numerous times, by just about every team. Players develop past their pay scale and move on.. Not a big deal... So take a look at whs out there when the time comes, find the guy who fits and pay the man...

Then draft... rounds 1 - 3 has 5 picks, we can easily spare one or two to help out the WR group if you ask me...

So if thats too high of a cost, I welcome other options... But I would like to point out the bargin FA shopping has not worked, nor has developing 4th - 7th round guys...

There's no doubt that they need to learn the value of quality over quantity.

They need to add 2 legitimate, impact, playmaking WR's. I don't mind if it comes exclusively through the draft. In fact I welcome it. But they can't enter Day 3 of the draft without having added 2 guys they feel really good about.

They need to add 2 legitimate, impact, playmaking WR's. I don't mind if it comes exclusively through the draft. In fact I welcome it. But they can't enter Day 3 of the draft without having added 2 guys they feel really good about.

Pretty hard to bank on 2 drafted guys stepping up immediately.

Have to sign at least one free agent to give you someone with a track record of achieving at least modest success at the NFL level.

It is highly unlikely we are going to find an immediate impact player at Wr in the draft. Very few WRs make an immediate impact their first year. Those few that do, do so so with mentorship from proven playmakers at the position on the team already. To me, that is the case for both going after a proven playmaker to add to Hartline and Bess and a first day WR draft pick. Picking 2 on the first day without an FA acquisition is a recipe for another offensive year like we had this year.

Sometimes teams can't keep every good player. The Steelers have Sanders and Brown. Ask yourselves, is Wallace an upgrade over what we have? I say yes, sign him.

Good point. I also find it frustrating already how other teams can let a quality guy go who is asking for more than he is probably worth & is somewhat of a pain & not miss a beat as the Steelers will do if he leaves.There may not be any immediate impact receivers in this draft by opinion right now but I cam almost guarantee another team will take a shot at one of these receivers & he will prove current opinion wrong.

I said this in another thread:He IS a one trick pony.BUT it is a VERY important trickAND he is the best in the NFL at it.AND we need his trick.

He may not be a complete player, but he fills a big void on the Dolphins

How many complete WRs are in the NFL?

I think labeling him a one trick pony is a bit unfair. He may not be Brandon Marshall going over the middle but he does more than just run deep routes.

There could be a very good WR that comes out of this draft but there just isn't a C. Johnson/Green/Fitzgerald type that you can comfortably take in the top 10 and know he is your go to target on Day 1.

There's no doubt that they need to learn the value of quality over quantity.

They need to add 2 legitimate, impact, playmaking WR's. I don't mind if it comes exclusively through the draft. In fact I welcome it. But they can't enter Day 3 of the draft without having added 2 guys they feel really good about.

Good plan, however I cant find many people who say there are impact players like that in the draft, was just another thread started regarding it...We need to use the 12th if we are banking on a guy making an impact this year..

Still see nothing wrong with a guy like Wallace or Jennings getting a contract as well..

Degs hit it right on. Great, Wallace..run deep every play. Wallce takes a DB annd safety with him. We run ball for 8 yard gain. Wallace run deep....he takes DB and safety with him. Hartline 12 yrd pass. Wallace run deep...we playaction, safety bites and a 55yrd td to Wallace. I can't believe some of you don't want to sign Mike Wallace, prob. the fastest guy in the NFL that would fill a huge need.

Myth No. 1 -- Mike Wallace was so disappointing this past season he was benched by coach Mike Tomlin: False. During the week prior to the Dec. 12 game against Baltimore, Tomlin was clearly unhappy with his team's course and the production of some players. And so that week he announced that Wallace and Emmanuel Sanders would be listed as "co-starters" on the depth chart rather than Wallace being the guy. Wallace was coming off a disappointing game against Cleveland and Sanders was in the midst of good season so much was written about the changing of the guard, so to speak. Well on game day, do you know what happened? Wallace started against Baltimore.

...............

Myth No. 2 -- Mike Wallace runs only go-routes: False. While Wallace is primarily a deep threat and has not been used very often in routes across the field, his routes repertoire was expanded this season to allow him to use his world-class speed in other ways. He ran in-cuts and outs. Is he an expert at those routes? No, he probably needs improvement. But is that the best use of one of the NFL's best deep threat receivers? Fair question.

...............

Myth No. 3 -- Mike Wallace drops passes: True. The guy dropped more passes this year than in past years. He dropped four passes in a game against Cincinnati. He blamed the issue on losing focus because the new offense instituted by offensive coordinator Todd Haley didn't always find him early on in games. Wallace said it was tough to play sometimes two or three quarters without a target and suddenly have the ball come to him. Excuse? I think so. On the other hand, name me a receiver that doesn't drop the ball sometimes.

...............

Myth No. 4 -- Mike Wallace only cares about money and will disappear once he gets paid: Hard to be unequivocal here because this involves predicting the future. But I was told the guy is a hard-worker. I was told he is a good guy in the locker room. I was told he "cares about winning." I was told he is "a pleasure to work with."

We need a player whose presence on the field changes the field. Right now, defenses do not fear the ability of the Dolphins to go deep. They know they can sit on the routes that Bess, Fasano the other receivers are running. The only guy that is any sort of deep threat is Hartline, but he is more consistent as an intermediate guy.

As Mak said, with a guy like Wallace on the field, defenses can't stack the box, corners will need over the top help from safeties to defend him. If you have 4-5 guys rushing the quarterback and 2 guys covering Wallace, everyone else sees one on one coverage. If corners choose to play off Wallace to respect his speed, the slant is a pass the Dolphins love to run and Tannehill loves to throw.

It just makes sense to add his skillset to this offense along with a tight end that can be the threat we need in the red zone.

Degs hit it right on. Great, Wallace..run deep every play. Wallce takes a DB annd safety with him. We run ball for 8 yard gain. Wallace run deep....he takes DB and safety with him. Hartline 12 yrd pass. Wallace run deep...we playaction, safety bites and a 55yrd td to Wallace. I can't believe some of you don't want to sign Mike Wallace, prob. the fastest guy in the NFL that would fill a huge need.

I would like him on the team too..But at what price?

I'm not saying cheap out but he is in the 10 to 12 million range. I know i have said it before but he is also going to cost you the Long 3rd round comp pick.

My point is we should franchise Long for this year and see how it goes with injury. It's only one year and it buys you time...Also being this is a good time to go get a Wallace with or cap being in pretty good shape we can afford the chance.

Wallace and all the picks we have..They should be in pretty good shape next season.

I know i have said it before but he is also going to cost you the Long 3rd round comp pick.

You either get a deep threat or a pick at the end of the third round, which we probably won't get anyway.

I'll go with the deep threat.

Quote:

My point is we should franchise Long for this year and see how it goes with injury. It's only one year and it buys you time...Also being this is a good time to go get a Wallace with or cap being in pretty good shape we can afford the chance.

I think franchising Long is going to eat up $14-$15 million in cap space. That's a third of the cap space we have available. When you're also looking at resigning some of your other players and picking up a big name free agent or two, that is a big chunk of change to tie up on a player. I'm not opposed to it, but I'd be very careful about it.

Quote:

Wallace and all the picks we have..They should be in pretty good shape next season.

I think as long as they address WR and TE in free agency, they'll be in good shape to address other needs in the draft. This draft doesn't have elite talent at WR or TE, but it does at DE and CB.

Degs hit it right on. Great, Wallace..run deep every play. Wallce takes a DB annd safety with him. We run ball for 8 yard gain. Wallace run deep....he takes DB and safety with him. Hartline 12 yrd pass. Wallace run deep...we playaction, safety bites and a 55yrd td to Wallace. I can't believe some of you don't want to sign Mike Wallace, prob. the fastest guy in the NFL that would fill a huge need.

I'm 100% on board with overpaying for Wallace. We've seen speed with no hands (Ginn) and speed that is useless because the guy can't run routes (Gates).

My worry is the bidding war and the choice of Wallace. If a playoff team offers him the same money as Miami he might be swayed to go to proven club. I don't want Miami wasting a lot of time chasing him down only to come up short and not have other options available. Make him an offer and if he doesn't bite then move along to plan B.

I'm on board with bringing Wallace to the Phins...but, as its been said a couple of times, I think we need to hit on another offensive threat within the first 3 rounds either a WR or TE. We have to load this offense with consistent playmakers. Just my .02 Go Phins!

Also, a 5-year deal can easily be a 3-year deal with the way roster bonuses are used to pump up the numbers.

I'm not against bringing in a high priced free agent but they fail more than succed if they are not dedicated players.

And you're right about a 3 year deal looking like a five year deal or a deal with options but with the likelihood that other teams will be bidding he is going to go to a team with more guaranteed money...Leaving you out of the bidding anyway

Roster bonuses are counted as part of the guaranteed money, which is why you'll see contract terms stated as 5 years, $55 million with $15 million in guarantees, but when you look at the specifics, they'll say "$10 million signing bonus".

As an example, see Tom Brady's contract.

9/9/2010: Signed a five-year, $78.5 million contract. The deal contains $48.5 million guaranteed, including a $16 million signing bonus and a $4 million second-year roster bonus. An annual $25,000 workout bonus is available in years two through five. 2013-2014: $9.75 million (+ $5 million roster bonus), 2015: Free Agent

Yeah, he held out because he was on a 5th round pick contract while putting up 1200 yards and 8 TDs.

I get it.

Paying big money for a free agent is a risk, absolutely. But so is drafting guys. Granted you're not paying them the same amount of money anymore but whether it is the draft or free agency, there is a chance you're bringing in a guy who won't perform or fit in.

At least in the case of Wallace, we have a body of work we can examine as a professional player.

Roster bonuses are counted as part of the guaranteed money, which is why you'll see contract terms stated as 5 years, $55 million with $15 million in guarantees, but when you look at the specifics, they'll say "$10 million signing bonus".

As an example, see Tom Brady's contract.

9/9/2010: Signed a five-year, $78.5 million contract. The deal contains $48.5 million guaranteed, including a $16 million signing bonus and a $4 million second-year roster bonus. An annual $25,000 workout bonus is available in years two through five. 2013-2014: $9.75 million (+ $5 million roster bonus), 2015: Free Agent

Ya i understand that..Brady was looking at a more cap friendly deal though because he wanted to stay put...Wallace is gonna have a bidding war for his services imo

The roster bonus at the end i don't see him going for. I'M thinking other teams will just throw a big upfront signing bonus at him...

The roster bonus at the end i don't see him going for. I'M thinking other teams will just throw a big upfront signing bonus at him...

We signed Karlos Dansby to a contract with a $16 million signing bonus. But that bonus costs $3.2 million against the cap each season. I don't have a problem with them giving Wallace more than that in a signing bonus, especially if it alleviates some of the roster bonuses and base salaries that would eat up cap in year 3, 4 or 5. With the cap room the Dolphins have, a big signing bonus might actually be the smart choice. They can afford to eat up more cap upfront.

I'm all for bringing in Wallace, but we wont be alone in trying to get him. I count at least 5 other teams that are in a good cap situation and could definitely use his services (Cinn, Cle, Ind, NE & Tenn).

Miami is definitely a front runner, but I would expect a lot of interest from Cle, Ind & NE. If NE lets Welker walk, then they'll look to upgrade. Indy got great production from TY Hilton and Wayne looks to have a couple more years left, so maybe their interest will be moderate. Cleveland is a wildcard, I'm sure they're interested, but I'm not sure this is a good fit for Wallace.

I brought up NE (and this maybe best left for another thread), but you know they're watching what happens with Hartline. If Welker's let go, then Hartline will get a lot of their attention.

I'm all for bringing in Wallace, but we wont be alone in trying to get him. I count at least 5 other teams that are in a good cap situation and could definitely use his services (Cinn, Cle, Ind, NE & Tenn).

Miami is definitely a front runner, but I would expect a lot of interest from Cle, Ind & NE. If NE lets Welker walk, then they'll look to upgrade. Indy got great production from TY Hilton and Wayne looks to have a couple more years left, so maybe their interest will be moderate. Cleveland is a wildcard, I'm sure they're interested, but I'm not sure this is a good fit for Wallace.

I brought up NE (and this maybe best left for another thread), but you know they're watching what happens with Hartline. If Welker's let go, then Hartline will get a lot of their attention.

Anyway, free agency starts March 12th, we'll have to wait and see.

I like Hartline on the team..And to have a guy that has played with us coming up in this system is very important..But he is replace-able ...A guy like Wallace has something not coach-able

The Patriots may be more interested in Wallace if they let Welker go...Welker wants the same money.

The roster bonus at the end i don't see him going for. I'M thinking other teams will just throw a big upfront signing bonus at him...

We signed Karlos Dansby to a contract with a $16 million signing bonus. But that bonus costs $3.2 million against the cap each season. I don't have a problem with them giving Wallace more than that in a signing bonus, especially if it alleviates some of the roster bonuses and base salaries that would eat up cap in year 3, 4 or 5. With the cap room the Dolphins have, a big signing bonus might actually be the smart choice. They can afford to eat up more cap upfront.

Getting Wallace is very complcated for the Dolphins or anyone for that matter. I'm all for it but it's has to fit.

And Long is a hurdle for us. And we will know that answer before free agency

I like Hartline on the team..And to have a guy that has played with us coming up in this system is very important..But he is replace-able ...A guy like Wallace has something not coach-able

The Patriots may be more interested in Wallace if they let Welker go...Welker wants the same money.

That's scary to think about..........NE adding Wallace.........it's really the only area their offense is lacking..........a dynamic down-field threat. They'll be looking to add that dimension in the off-season.........especially in the Golden Boy's final years.

That's another reason to get Wallace...........to prevent him from going to the Pats.